Despite the rain, our preschool celebrated Martinmas last night with a traditional lantern walk. We ended up making lanterns that look very much like last years.

I experimented with something new and Peanut and I made these...

...a cross between paper lanterns and yarn bowls. And while the idea seemed like fun and they DO look pretty, they were a bit difficult for my five-year-old to make and the yarn uses alot (ALOT) of glue so I decided not to challenge my preschoolers with this project. Instead we made the same kind as last year.

Day 1: using a mix of glue and water we pasted white tissue paper over the bottom part of balloons.

They dried over-night in the basement.

Day 2: The kids added colorful tissue paper.

Again, drying in the basement.

Once dry, we cut the balloons out.

Then we punched four holes along the edge, strung yarn through them and attached them to sticks, for carrying.

Although the lanterns had trouble staying lit in the wind and rain, we had a lovely walk by the lake which ended in a spontaneous game of swinging from the willow tree.

We spent five glorious days at our friend's farm last week. Everything moves at a slower pace there and I just love it. There is time for long dinners, mile-long walks and time to share coffee and conversation with friends, face to face instead of facebook to facebook. The weather was perfect for apple picking, tree climbing and exploring all the fall flowers crops. (I went a little wild taking photos which can be found here.)

My friend's farm is know as "probably the largest bittersweet farm in the world". I love that. "Probably". He doesn't know for sure, but he certainly has a lot of it. How I do love bittersweet, the perfect fall flower.

It was quite an adventure for the boys. They wanted to be outside the entire day.

For each card I have a little pumpkin that can hide in the tree stump (when it gets scared). Each pumpkin has a happy face on one side and a frightening face on the other. Although my son thinks it's more of an angry face. It's been a while since I made ATCs and I forgot how much I really enjoy working on such a small scale. I think I may have to do more of these soon.

I'm calling them pepper swags although there is probably a better name for them.

My friends from India are never without a variety of peppers hanging in their kitchen ready for adding instant spice to their very flavorful cooking. I've always thought they looked so pretty and last week while at the Farmer's Market I came across a huge basket of chili peppers and knew I wanted to try this project with the kids.

Start by washing and (very important) thoroughly drying the peppers.

With a needle and thread (preferably upholstery or silk thread-something strong) I used fish line since that's what I had on hand. It's very important to string the peppers through the green stem at the very top. That keeps the spicy juice off little fingers and also preserves the peppers. It takes just minutes to string enough for a pretty hanging. To the kids swags I added this note for the parents. Use as a festive fall decoration or hang in the kitchen and once the peppers have dried crush them as needed to add a little spice to your cooking. The kids were thrilled and they do make such a nice fall decoration.

Julen and I walked four miles along the creek in search of this precious berry. I was afraid that the seaon had already passed us by when finally I came across a bush heavy with the fruit. Greedily I snipped all that were hidden from the birds and smiled all the way home. I was on my way to making some elderberry syrup.

Last month at the preschool we started having parent gatherings. A way of establishing community and letting parents share and get to know one another. Our first get-together was hosted by one of our moms who is a massage therapist and herbalist. She taught me of the health benefits of elderberries last year, but I was happy to hear her lead a discussion and teach us how to make our own elderberry syrup at home.

There is tons of information about the health benefits of elderberries on the internet. (Here is one link to get you started.) All I really need to know is it's proven effective in boosting the immune system (who doesn't need extra defense against influenza and H1N1?) and also, my boys love it so much they ask for a spoonful every day.

After washing and pulling them off the stems, I found I had gathered three cups. Making the syrup was not as intimidating as I had imagined. Fill a big pot with the berries, water, ground clove, cinnamon sticks and fresh ground ginger. Let it simmer (one to two hours). Once it is slightly cooled, strain (I used a super-fine colander but cheese cloth should also work). While still warm, add honey. Store in the refrigerator. It made enough to fill a two-quart jar plus a little more.

With each of us taking a spoonful a day, that should get my family through flu season.